


I'd Hate to Break Up the Set

by Impala_Chick



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War Fix-It, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Fade to Black, First Dates, Getting Together, Holly Poly, Love Triangle resolved by polyamory, Love Triangles, Multi, Natasha Romanov Feels, POV Natasha Romanov, Polyamory, Sexual Tension, Steve Rogers Feels, Threesome - F/M/M, Tony Stark Feels, What-If, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22238041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: At the airport, Natasha makes a split-second decision and forces Steve to stay. Tony and Steve (and Natasha) have to grapple with the emotional consequences.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35
Collections: Holly Poly 2019





	I'd Hate to Break Up the Set

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flipflop_diva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/gifts).



> I loved the opportunity to explore Nat's character as I delved into how Civil War could have happened differently if they'd been together, or were on the verge of getting together. I hope you enjoy!

Natasha was waiting in front of the Quinjet when Steve and Barnes burst through the wreckage. Steve looked just as he usually did when squaring off before an enemy; appraising, his whole body tense, waiting for something bad to happen but not willing to make the first move. She hated being on the other end of that look.

“You’re not going to stop,” she said as she met Steve’s gaze. 

“You know I can’t,” he answered easily. She noticed T’Challa coming towards them and had to make a split second decision. She only had a few choices, and none of them seemed promising.

“I’m going to regret this.” She sent sparks flying as she temporarily immobilized T’Challa. Steve’s eyes widened before she hit Steve with a widow’s bite, too. She winced as Steve went down and his shield clattered to the concrete.

“Run,” she said to Barnes. He hesitated, glancing down at Steve. With a mighty groan, Steve writhed and stood up, but Natasha was committed now. The Winter Soldier could undoubtedly complete whatever mission Steve thought was important enough to risk the entire team’s safety; a mission that Clint thought was important enough to come out of retirement for. 

But Steve was going to stay. It was the closest thing to a compromise she was going to be able to negotiate in such a short amount of time.

She hit Steve with another widow's bite, and then hit T’Challa again. They both fell to their knees.

“Leave me, take Sam,” Steve growled. He was talking to Barnes, but he was looking right at her. Natasha grit her teeth.

“I thought she was your friend,” Barnes said with a puzzled expression before he took off for the Quinjet. She could hear him hailing Sam on his comms, but she didn’t turn to look. Instead, she let Steve rise to his feet. 

“I don’t understand,” Steve said as he looked at her with narrowed eyes. He didn’t seem particularly angry. Instead, his shoulders were hunched up like he was trying to make himself smaller.

“Tony tried to use his words. I’m more of an act first, talk later kinda gal. But you already knew that.”

The Quinjet roared to life behind them. She grabbed Steve’s arm to haul him off to the side. The Quinjet began its ascent soon after, and Natasha tried to shoot her widow’s bite at T’Challa when she noticed him running to keep up. She missed and he leapt up to grab the landing gear. She watched as the wheels were stowed and T’Challa fell back to the ground.

“This isn’t over,” Steve remarked, gesturing to where Tony was leaning over the spider kid.

Her compromise wasn’t going to work if Barnes and Sam didn’t get away. 

“Here,” Natasha said. She jogged over to pick up Steve’s shield and tossed it to him. He caught it handily. Natasha pointed up at Tony, who had just left the ground to go after the Quinjet. 

Steve followed her line of sight and heaved his shield up into the air. It caught Tony in the boot. One of his thrusters blinked a few times and then started to fail, and worry coursed through Natasha. She knew that there was a parachute system, so the irrational dread caught her by surprise. She looked over at Steve, who was standing completely motionless, mesmerized by Tony’s flight pattern.

Tony’s body jerked erratically, and then he started to descend. His flight was jerky and uneven, but he still appeared to be in control and he wasn’t moving too quickly. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.

Once Tony was safely on the ground, he immediately pointed his gauntlet at Steve. The bright circle of light in his palm left dark shadows across Steve’s face.

“Are you going to stand down?” Tony asked.

Steve didn’t answer. She watched him adjust his grip on the shield he’d retrieved, and she took that moment’s hesitation as her cue. She stepped forward until she was standing between Tony and Steve. After all of the destruction, the silence that descended over the airport was eerie.

Tony craned his neck to track the Quinjet, but it was already gone. She saw him tense, probably debating whether to go or stay.

“Don’t,” Natasha ground out. “Your thruster is damaged. And we have to talk to Steve.”

She took a few steps towards Tony with her arm out, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. 

“So you came up with a new plan? Would have been nice if you’d informed me,” Tony said sarcastically.

She stared at Steve, whose eyes darted from Tony’s to hers. Steve’s entire body was tense and his hands were balled into fists at his sides. She could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.

Steve spoke first.

“You’re fucking him.” 

The words were like a punch to the gut and Natasha struggled to breath. He wasn’t wrong, but she hadn’t expected Steve to say them with such venom.

“Jealous there, Cap?” Tony shot back, just as harshly. 

Steve didn’t even flinch. Natasha knew that was a bad sign. Natasha was used to keeping secrets, and the one involving her and Tony had always seemed like an important one to keep. She’d seen the way Steve looked at Tony when he wasn’t looking, and she knew about the soft feelings for Tony that had wound their way around Steve’s heart even though he never told her outright.

But she saw then that anything would have been better than Steve finding out this way.

She’d faced down hoards of hardened criminals, Soviet spies, assassins, The Winter Soldier, and even a panel of United States Senators. But nothing compared to the fear she felt in that moment, standing next to Tony in that deserted Airport, waiting for two of the people she cared about most in the world to tear each other apart.

Steve’s eyes were blazing as he stared at Tony. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

Rhodes interrupted them over the comms.

“The jet is gone, Tony. With Barnes and Wilson aboard. What should we do?”

Tony took a deep, steadying breath before he answered.

“Arrest whoever is left.”

The words broke the tension like a pin popping a balloon. Steve’s shoulders slumped and he fell to his knees, slowly putting his hands on his head.

“Looks like you get what you wanted all along, Tony,” Steve said softly. 

“This isn’t what I wanted. Not even close,” Tony answered. He knelt down to clamp electrified handcuffs around Steve’s wrists. She and Tony both knew those wouldn’t hold Steve if he wanted to break them.

Steve hung his head as Tony retracted his face plate, still on one knee in front of Steve.

“This fucking sucks, actually. It’s not - we’re not trying to hurt you.” Tony was scrambling for the words to explain, and Natasha winced. She knew there was nothing he could say, not yet anyway. 

Steve looked up and met Tony’s gaze. 

“I’ll go with you wherever it is you want me to go. But don’t expect me to forgive you.”

Natasha gently grasped Steve’s elbow and helped him up. He refused to look at her and instead kept his eyes on the ground.

Tony stood up and stalked off.

She gently steered Steve over to a black Suburban and opened the door for him. He climbed into the back. She got behind the wheel. Neither of them said anything, even when Rhodey brought Scott Lang over to the car and pushed him inside. She kept glancing into the rear view mirror, but Steve never looked up.

&

Seeing Clint and the others hauled off to the maximum security floating fortress had been a shock. She still believed U.N. oversight was important, but she had expected some type of due process for the other Avengers.

She and Tony were seated at the end of the conference table. In the front of the room, Ross was watching the flat screen display of surveillance footage. The camera was trained on Steve, who was seated at a small metal chair in an interrogation room with his hands folded in his lap.

She had to rapidly re-prioritize her goals. There was no time to consult with Tony, so she didn’t know if they were on the same page, but she did know that Steve was the key. Steve knew where Sam and Barnes had gone. If Natasha could get word to them about what had happened, Clint and the others had a chance of being rescued. She certainly couldn’t do it alone, and Ross was going to be watching Tony like a hawk.

“You do realize he’s not going to talk to you,” Natasha said under her breath to Tony, without turning her head. 

Tony inclined his head towards Natasha, but didn’t say anything in response.

“We need to find out where the others were headed,” Ross was saying. “It’s imperative that we reach them before more damage is done. Do you realize how much it’s going to cost to-”

Tony interrupted him. “Let Natasha talk to him. No cameras, just her. It’s the only way.”

Ross looked up at Natasha with his eyes narrowed. 

“After she let Barnes escape, you expect me to trust her?”

Natasha bristled, but didn’t say anything. It was better for her if she let Ross think whatever he wanted to about her, for now. 

“You don’t have to trust her, you just have to trust me,” Tony countered. “And she didn’t let him escape, she only had a limited number of widow bites and her hands were full with Steve and T’Challa.”

Ross stared between Tony and Natasha, considering.

“Do you want us to get the information or not?” Tony said. “It’s not like you could beat it out of him.” 

Tony gestured towards the screen. Steve still hadn’t moved. 

Natasha appreciated Tony’s vote of confidence, but she wasn’t sure if Steve would even talk to her. He was likely still furious with her. She desperately wanted the chance, though. Maybe she could still salvage her relationship with Steve, and try to understand what he was thinking.

“Fine. But any funny business, and I can send you to spend some time with your friends,” Ross threatened as he glared at Natasha.

Natasha nearly dropped her carefully orchestrated good-girl charade to launch herself across the table at him, but she knew it would get her nowhere if she pissed off Ross before she’d had a chance to talk to Steve.

Tony briefly squeezed her shoulder with his right hand and smiled weakly. He must have noticed her discomfort at being spoken to in such a way. She appreciated the gesture, but the obvious sadness in his smile is what really steeled her resolve. Despite what Steve believed, Tony had always had a gentle soul. She’d tried to take care of Tony in the best way she knew how over the past few months, but the pain he carried with him only seemed to make his heart heavier. She worried about what might happen to him if the pain overwhelmed him. 

Steve, on the other hand, was a soldier in every sense of the word. He let his pain manifest as anger and would let that anger crystallize his resolve. He’d be quiet and stubborn and single-minded, and she’d have to be straight-forward and emotionless to even have a chance at getting through to him.

“Let’s do this, then.” 

She nodded to Ross. When he turned around to speak to an agent, she squeezed Tony’s hand reassuringly. 

“You know him better than anyone,” was all Tony said under his breath, his eyes fearful. She knew what he meant. If she wasn’t successful, he couldn’t control what was going to happen to Steve. What Natasha didn’t say was that Steve’s fate was probably out of Tony’s hands already.

She watched as an agent turned off the surveillance camera, and then she was let into the room where Steve was seated. The door shut behind her with a heavy clank, and she sat in the second chair in front of Steve. 

“No cameras, just me,” she said.

Natasha waited for Steve to glance up at the camera and notice that the red light was turned off. Once he did, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“I didn’t have a choice, Nat.” 

“Then tell me why,” she said as she leaned forward to put her forearms on her thighs.

“There are other Winter Soldiers,” he said gravely. 

When he didn’t offer more, Natasha prompted him gently. “That was always suspected to be the case.”

Steve sighed.

“That Doctor, he knows how to control Bucky. He knows how to control all of the Winter Soldiers. And he’s going to go retrieve them. Bucky gave him the location.”

Natasha leaned back in her chair with a whistle of surprise. “And you thought the U.N. wouldn’t let you go stop him?”

Steve shook his head. “This isn’t about me and you know that. They wouldn’t have let _Bucky_ go. And he has to be there. He’s the only one who knows about how Winter Soldiers operate. He’s the only one who can lead us to the compound.”

“Fine, but you couldn’t have explained that to me?” Natasha pressed.

“You had already chosen your side, Nat. It seems we have gotten good at keeping secrets from each other.” 

Natasha didn’t bother to hide her annoyance at that. She stood up to face away from Steve’s accusatory glare. 

“That’s not fair. Offering Tony emotional and physical comfort doesn’t make me any different than the person you trusted before. God knows, he needed it. I needed it.”

“What about what I need, Nat?” Steve asked, his voice uncharacteristically pleading. She turned back to meet his gaze. If he was going to be honest with her, the least she could do was face him. 

“Did you ever consider that I did what I did to protect Tony?” He said.

Natasha put her hand on her hip, waiting for Steve to continue. She had no idea what he could be referring to, but she certainly didn’t want to press too hard and make him clam up. 

“Do you know how Tony’s parents died?” Steve said softly, rubbing the palm of his left hand with his right. 

She knew of the car accident because SHIELD had briefed her before she met Tony. The nature of the single car accident did seem suspicious. And she knew it happened in 1991, a time when The Winter Soldier was definitely active.

She harshly sucked in a breath. If Steve was bringing it up now, Hydra must have assassinated the Starks, using Barnes as their weapon.

“Both of you teamed up against me so fast it made my head spin. But even before that, there was no way I could tell Tony,” Steve professed. “This will destroy him.” 

Steve hunched over in his chair and crossed his arms. He looked as if he was hugging himself to keep warm, but she knew he didn’t get cold the way normal people did. He must have been in serious pain to let it manifest outwardly, and it became obvious to her how long Steve must have been carrying such a terrible secret. 

Natasha knelt at his feet and put her hand on his knee, feeling guilt wash over her. Steve didn’t flinch away from her touch, but that didn’t feel like a victory. For months, she’d read Tony’s misery clearly but had missed the way Steve was struggling.

“So why tell me now?” Natasha asked the obvious question.

“Because you know him better than me, I can see that now. You should decide what to do with the information.” Steve’s voice sounded rough, like he was holding back tears.

“This isn’t a you or me situation, you know that right? We could talk to him together. He’d understand,” she said hastily. 

“No, he won’t.” Steve’s eyes were blazing as he looked down at her. 

“He understands what it means to be brainwashed, to be made into something you’re not,” Natasha explained. She was thinking of the one and only time she and Tony had talked about her past, and Natasha had admitted how she felt ashamed of it. Tony told her that everyone was worthy of a new start if they wanted it.

“Does he understand? Or does he just like what you’re offering him?” Steve gestured at her body, and Natasha took her hand from his knee as she recoiled. She had to take a deep breath before answering. She knew Steve was only acting out of feelings of anger and betrayal, but it hurt for him to make such innuendos, acting as if she was foolish enough to let herself become a conquest.

“I know you think more highly of him than that. I know you think more highly of _me_ than that,” she grit out. “Such insults are beneath you.”

Steve breathed harshly through his nose and then put his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I thought we were friends, Nat. How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I thought it would hurt you,” she admitted. It sounded foolish now. She could see how Steve had been in a similar situation, hiding the truth to protect Tony.

Steve bit his lip. “I do feel - I mean, I did feel something for Tony. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy.”

Natasha shook her head. He was not understanding, and she desperately wanted him to. 

“What I feel for Tony, I feel for you too. I feel responsible for you both. I want to help. I just didn’t notice you were feeling so hurt.” 

Steve reached down to take her hand and then kissed the back of it softly. His lips were warm against her skin, and she shivered from the tenderness of his touch. 

“You couldn’t have known,” Steve said on a shuddering breath. “God, Natasha. I didn’t want us to end up this way. I need your help.” 

Natasha put her hand back on Steve’s knee, needing to stay connected to him. “I don’t know if I can get you out of here. But I could at least help Sam and Barnes. Let me do that for you.” 

“Siberia. The compound is in Siberia. That doctor will be there. I don’t know what else he’s planning,” Steve said, his voice trembling slightly.

There was a knock and Natasha didn’t have time to retract her hand before Tony burst through the entryway carrying a stack of papers. He shut the heavy door, and glanced at Natasha with his eyebrows raised.

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” he bit out, his voice clipped. “But Cap was onto something. That psych’s name is Helmut Zemo. He killed the real psychologist. And he had a prosthetic and a Winter Soldier mask. Looks like he set us up.”

Natasha stood up heavily, and pulled Steve to his feet. 

“I haven’t told Ross yet, but obviously time is of the essence. Any info you have would be particularly helpful,” Tony pressed, flicking his gaze to Steve’s face.

“We need Steve to go with us. He’s the only one who can show us to the compound,” Natasha explained. “And we have to talk to you, Tony.”

“You really think Ross is going to let the three of us walk out of here?” Tony said.

“He has no other choice right now. Besides, Clint and Scott and the others are leverage.” Natasha wasn’t exactly sure that line of reasoning would work with Ross, but they had to try. Whatever was in Siberia, she felt strongly that they had to face it together. She had to prove that they could function as a team, because she didn’t think Tony nor Steve believed that anymore.

&

They both had to put their own freedom on the line, but Natasha and Tony convinced Ross to let them take Steve with them. Steve was given his uniform and his shield, Natasha grabbed her own suit, and then the three of them hastily boarded Tony’s helicopter.

The cabin of the chopper was quieter than a normal helicopter, so none of them bothered with headphones. Natasha felt no compunction about changing into her Black Widow suit in front of them, but she also didn’t meet their gazes while she pulled her shirt over her head and wiggled forward in her seat to peel off her jeans. Steve cleared his throat and then she heard the rustling of clothes. Steve was changing as well. 

She did sneak a glance at Tony then while she suited up, curious despite the grave circumstances. And Tony was indeed watching Steve. Steve looked up while he was pulling the zipper up on his fly and just so happened to meet Tony’s eyes, making the tension in the cabin skyrocket. She could feel her own blood pounding in her ears as her heart rate increased. But all of that was secondary to the way her skin crawled, knowing a piece of vital intel that Tony didn’t know. No matter how much it was going to hurt, he deserved the truth.

“Tell him, Steve. Secrets can be used as weapons and we don’t know what we’re about to face.”

He finished zipping up his uniform and then pointedly turned in his chair. _You sure about this?_ , his eyes seemed to be saying. Tony was looking between the two of them, completely bewildered.

“I already know that you want to see me naked, Cap. You don’t have to say it,” Tony joked, his voice sarcastic. The heavy silence must have been making him feel self-conscious.

Steve took a deep breath and Natasha nodded. 

“The Winter Soldier killed your parents, Tony. Hydra made him do it.”

Tony slumped back against his seat and gasped. He clenched his jaw and his eye twitched a bit, and it didn’t look like he was breathing. Natasha was frightened that he was having a panic attack. She reached out for him at the same time Steve did, and she held his left hand while Steve held his right.

Tony pulled away from them both so that he could grab onto the brown straps of Steve’s uniform.

“You knew and yet you kept that information to yourself,” Tony roared, his voice filling up the entire cabin. “You’re protecting your old pal at the expense of the _entire_ U.N. and your team. What else are you hiding, Rogers?” 

Tony shook him a little and Natasha put her hand on Tony’s shoulder. He stilled, and then pushed Steve away with a huff of disgust. Natasha felt her chest constrict as she looked between them. Tony was shaking with anger, and Steve looked limp and listless. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve said softly. 

Natasha saw Tony open his mouth, no doubt about to say something he would later regret. She couldn’t sit back and let him, not after Steve had just put it all on the line to come clean.

“Let’s not forget who the real fucking enemy is. Hydra, for taking Barnes’ agency away from him and killing your parents. And Zemo, for killing those people with his bomb.” 

Tony opened his mouth to interrupt her, but Natasha held up her hand and plowed on.

“All Steve ever did was care about you too fucking much to be able to bear telling you the truth.”

“Nat,” Steve squeaked, indignant. Tony’s jaw dropped open. He was still shaking, but she didn’t know if that was from anger or shock.

Natasha sucked in a shuddering breath and reached out for Tony’s hand again. He didn’t react, so she squeezed his fingers, hoping to ground him.

“I don’t understand why you kept this from me,” Tony finally said, ice dripping from his words. He was searching Steve’s face for something, but Natasha couldn’t be sure what he was looking for. 

“Bucky is the key to stopping Zemo. He knows about the Winter Soldier protocols and the location, and we needed him. Ross was never going to hear him out or forgive him.” 

“That doesn’t explain why I’m out of the loop,” Tony countered. 

“We can’t do this right now. We need to focus on the mission. We’re nearly there,” Steve said, his voice pained as he looked over at Natasha.

Tony’s eyes blazed with anger before he shook out of Natasha’s grip.

“Fine. The helo is programed to land on its own. I’ll see you there.” Then Tony pressed his finger into the console, and the chair tipped back as the Iron Man suit unfurled around him.

She looked out the window and watched the lights of Tony’s repulsors disappear in the fog.

&

Once they touched down and ran out from under the slowing propeller blades, it was fairly easy to locate the bunker. The landscape was cold, flat, and desolate and the only thing remarkable about the scene before them was a large metal door that was hanging open ominously.

She ran towards it, Steve on her heels. 

When she peered around the door, she had to take a moment to let her eyes adjust to the light. 

“Tony,” Steve hissed.

She could see that Tony was kneeling over someone, holding them down with his fist raised. She looked up and saw Sam watching, his arms crossed. Barnes wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and Natasha hurriedly stepped forward. 

“Welcome to the party, Cap. Iron Man here was just giving Zemo a piece of his mind.” Sam gestured down at the ground.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned over Tony and looked into the bruised face of Helmut Zemo. 

“The bastard was waiting for me. To show me the footage. But since we didn’t arrive together, Cap, he didn’t exactly have the audience he wanted,” Tony explained in his showboat voice as he pulled Zemo to his feet. 

“But where is Bucky?” Steve asked, his eyes frantically looking around the room. 

T’Challa and Barnes emerged from the shadows, walking side by side. 

“Don’t worry, Stevie. We’ve had a bit of a heart to heart,” Barnes said. 

“Is it really over?” Natasha said as she looked around the room. Sam grinned at her, and T’Challa nodded. 

She couldn’t see Tony’s face because the Iron Man mask was still up, but he was holding tightly onto Zemo’s arm.

“I think so. There’s still the matter of our friends in the floating prison, but maybe turning over Zemo will gain us some points,” Tony said. 

“There’s a floating prison?” Sam said, confused. 

Natasha looked between them all, suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion. She’d been up for nearly 24 hours, been through a fraught conversation with Steve, tried to negotiate a temporary peace between the two men she loved in equal measure, and had flown in a helicopter on her way to a mission where they had no way to know what they were walking into.

And now it was all over. Everyone was safe, and there was nothing more she had to do. She started to feel a little lightheaded, and her heart thudded erratically in her chest. She felt her legs shake, and unexpectedly stumbled.

When she was asked later what it felt like, she had a hard time describing it. It was like her legs gave out and her mind went blank. She was seeing the scene as if she was an outsider. Tony reached forward and nearly let go of Zemo, shouting something. Steve appeared at her side to hold her steady. 

She didn’t hit the ground, but she did feel extremely embarrassed. She had never lost control like that, least of all in front of the team.

“When was the last time you ate anything?” Steve asked so gently that it set her teeth on edge.

“Just - don’t. Let’s go,” she bit out. 

She let Steve steer her back to the Quinjet. Sam pushed a water bottle into her hands and she took it up to the co-pilot’s seat and sat down heavily. She drank as she watched Steve discussing something with Barnes, Sam, and T’Challa at the edge of the ramp. She couldn’t hear what they were saying. When Steve came back and fired up the Quinjet, he offered her a pair of headphones. Tony dragged Zemo onboard and handcuffed him to a chair.

“Bucky and Sam are going with T’Challa to Wakanda. They’ll be safe there. We are going to deliver Zemo and get you some food, and then we are going straight back to the Avengers compound. The helicopter can fly itself back.”

“Fine,” Natasha said, feeling lightheaded. Maybe she was hungry, although she was loathe to admit it.

The trip back was quiet, and markedly different from their trip to Siberia. For one thing, Zemo was there grumbling about his insane plan and Tony was trying not to strangle him. For another, Steve kept gently touching her arm and shooting her worried glances. 

But they made it to the embassy without incident. Natasha was ready to sneak Steve out the back, but that didn’t turn out to be necessary. Tony yelled at Ross until he agreed to let Steve leave with them “under compound arrest” in exchange for Zemo. 

Natasha promptly fell asleep on the long flight back to New York. She didn't wake until she felt Tony gently shake her arm. Relief flooded her when the Quinjet ramp lowered and she laid eyes on the place Natasha had only recently let herself think of as home.

She sighed heavily as she walked across the lawn, Steve and Tony on either side of her. She still felt a bone-deep exhaustion that made all of her extremities tingle. It was almost like she was walking through a thick fog. But she could tell that they were both watching her.

“I’m not going to break, boys,” she chastised. 

She glanced up at Steve, who huffed a laugh and shook his head. 

“C’mon, Romanov. Give us a little credit,” Tony said, still in his Iron Man suit. 

“I need a shower in the worst way. And then I’m sleeping for the next two days,” Natasha mused as soon as they made it to the steel side door. 

“Agreed,” Tony said. “But maybe some take-out first? What do you guys think? Shawarma is out, we need a new post-mission go-to.”

Natasha slipped inside first and they followed her into the elevator. 

“Pizza. It’s a classic,” Steve chimed in. 

“Good, great. Friday, order us some pizza.” 

Natasha leaned heavily against the cool glass of the elevator window, glad to let the both of them kept up a steady hum of upbeat chatter and soothe her frayed nerves. 

She was grateful they’d both come home with her. 

The day could have ended much worse. She let the warm water of her shower wash that thought right down the drain. No use worrying about something that hadn’t happened.

She sat down on the bed with her robe wrapped around herself, confused. Everything about Steve and Tony and the past 24 hours was all tangled up in her head, and it was hard to separate out how she felt. Maybe if she just laid down for a moment, she’d feel less out of control. She fell into a dreamless sleep after that. 

She didn’t make it to pizza.

&

She woke up so hungry that she didn’t think twice about going to the kitchen, but she was surprised to see Steve at the stove and Tony at the coffeemaker. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to face either of them yet, but there was no way to sneak out now.

“Morning, sunshine!” Tony said brightly. He handed her a mug of warm coffee in just sweatpants and a tank top. He looked comfortable and well-rested, which was a good look on him.

She accepted the coffee without a word, and looked over at Steve, who was flipping pancakes. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and he had a kitchen towel thrown over his shoulder. They both looked so domestic, like it wasn’t weird at all for them to be making breakfast together. Even though it definitely was.

“Before you ask, we helped negotiate deals for Clint and Scott. They are getting busted out of prison as we speak. It’s going to take a bit more convincing to get Wanda out, but my best lawyers are on it,” Tony explained as he took a seat at one of the bar stools. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “And this deal? What did they want in return?”

Tony’s eyes darted over to Steve.

“A PR campaign, a goodwill tour. And my signature,” Steve said as he turned off the burner. 

“You agreed to sign?” Natasha asked, surprised. “Jesus, how long was I asleep? You boys moved mountains overnight.”

Steve set a plate of pancakes in front of her.

“It was a decision that included a lot of negotiating. We went to a meeting this morning. And I mostly did it because of you,” Steve said as he opened the fridge. “Something about remembering who the ‘real fucking enemy’ is?” He turned back to her and grinned.

“It’s not all puppies and rainbows, though,” Tony was quick to point out. “There’s still work to be done. Our friends are all pissed at us, Ross is pissed at us, the U.N. is pissed at us, _you’re_ probably pissed at us. I’m definitely a little miffed at Cap.” Tony said as he started ticking off the list on his fingers. 

“Not to mention we aren’t sure how Bucky is going turn out once Princess Shuri is done with him,” Steve said. 

Tony didn’t even flinch when Steve mentioned his name, which Natasha was pleased by.

“I’m not, you know,” Natasha said firmly as she took a seat next to Tony. She reached out and squeezed his arm.

“You have every right to be angry, Nat. I said some awful things,” Steve said. “I’d take them back if I could. I never wanted to get in the way.” He paused in his kitchen work to look at her, his eyes wide and sorrowful. She had to admit she appreciated the apology. 

“And I shouldn’t have treated you like… my secretary? Personal assistant? I don’t know, I just took you for granted. And I want you to know I’m okay with whatever you want to do now. As Cap would say, I’d hate to break up the set,” Tony said as he looked at Steve and then down at his hands.

“Well, boys. You really know how to make a girl feel special.” Natasha said it with a teasing tilt to her voice, just to buy time. It felt like they were asking her something more serious than just whether she forgave them. 

She looked between the two of them, both waiting expectantly for her to say something else. She dreaded admitting it, the thing that she’d been wrestling with ever since it became clear to her that she couldn’t lose either of them. But she trusted them both enough to be honest.

“I could never choose, and I hope you’re not asking me to. It feels _right_ when the three of us work together, on a mission or otherwise,” she said as he looked between them.

Tony grinned slowly. “So, maybe we can take a break tonight? What do ya say, Rogers?”

“Movie and dinner? Like a real date,” Steve said eagerly. “Let me take the lead this time. Make it up to you both?”

They were on board with it so quickly, Natasha felt like she had whiplash. Maybe they’d been thinking along the same lines already. 

"And you're both okay enough with each other to try this?" She asked.

“I'm thinking of this as a fresh start. Right Steve?” Tony turned to him, his voice just a little high-pitched, like he was nervous.

Steve nodded as he leaned against the counter, his expression soft as he looked between them.

“Okay,” Natasha agreed. “But it better be a good movie. You have a lot to make up for, I’ve been keeping track.”

Steve shrugged in silent agreement, and Tony laughed. 

Now that everything was out in the open, her heart felt light. It was like she could finally breathe again.

&

At the theater, Natasha sat between Steve and Tony with her ball cap pulled down low. The movie was not very memorable, but that turned out to be a low priority. As soon as the lights went down, she took both of their hands. They both glanced over at her with sly smiles. She pushed her luck and moved her hands to their thighs. She loved how Steve settled back in his seat and let his legs fall open, while Tony sat up straight and kept bouncing his knee up and down. Their contrast had always been fascinating to her, and now she had the opportunity to push their buttons. She slid her hand up as high as she dared, and listened carefully for their quickened breathes whenever there was a lull in the film.

When they got back to the compound, she let Tony kiss her neck in the elevator. Steve watched politely, like he wasn’t sure what he was allowed to do.

Natasha hauled him in to lean against her. She was worried that maybe he’d be embarrassed, or he wouldn’t know what to do, but he didn’t hesitate. His stubble scraped across her cheek as he bit her bottom lip and licked into her mouth. She gasped into it, and felt Tony’s hand squeezing her hips. 

She looked down to see Tony’s other hand tugging at Steve’s waistband, keeping him close. Tony was straddling Natasha’s left thigh, and Steve was pressed against her other side, and it was exhilarating to be so wrapped up in them. Steve leaned over her to press his lips to Tony's, and the sight was as erotic as it was surprising.

The elevator dinged and they tumbled out into the living room, Natasha nearly breathless.

“Nat? The couch?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Natasha agreed as she let Tony take her hand. 

He led her to the couch and Steve sat on her other side. 

“We’ve got you,” Steve whispered into the shell of her ear. He turned her head to bite her earlobe, and Tony ran his hands up her thighs. She gasped at the sensual way they were touching her, and she slumped back to let Steve hold her body weight. As they both moved their hands over her shoulders and breasts, she felt as if they were expressing their devotion better than words could have.

She was grateful that Tony already knew some of the things that helped her get out of her own head. He gripped her wrists and held them against her own thighs before leaning in to kiss her, his tongue wet against hers. She felt Steve’s body shudder from his groan because he was pressed so close to her.

“I’d have you both,” Natasha said, her voice rough. 

“You’re going to have to move for that,” Tony pointed out. She leaned forward, already unzipping her jeans.

“God,” Steve whispered as she pushed her jeans over her hips. She looked over her shoulder at Steve’s wide eyes and parted lips. He touched her gently along her back and gripped her hips, and she shivered from the gentleness of his touch. 

“Steve, hold me down,” Natasha said, knowing he knew exactly how hard he could push her from all their months of training together. 

He looked up at Tony with the same naked expression he’d just directed at her, his face so open and trusting. That look alone left her breathless. 

Tony sat down on the couch and she turned her attention back to him. She could see the outline of Tony’s cock through his slacks, and she felt hungry for it.

She felt Steve push her forward, onto Tony’s lap. He pushed until her face was right up against Tony’s zipper. 

“Fuck,” she groaned, exhilarated by Steve’s power. 

Everything happened quickly after that. Natasha pushed back into Steve and he held her down to stop her from moving. Tony unzipped his pants and she mouthed at him, while the smell of sex filled the living room. Steve spoke the language of pleasure just as well as Tony did, and Natasha felt as if she was being swept up in an unrelenting current, happy to let them keep her afloat. 

She’d never felt so safe or so complete in her life.


End file.
